Species
Three of the solar system's seven planets lie within the Oa's habitable zone (known as the "Life Belt") and are home to a variety of plants and animals, though not all have been fully documented yet. Taomar Taomar is the closest inhabited planet to the Sun, and the largest of the terrestrial worlds, covered in thick green jungles and bubbling red geysers. Its diverse flora and fauna are highly resilient due to its dense atmosphere and strong gravity, and they are also extremely hostile. Because Taomar's humid atmosphere is so saturated with vapour, many of its life forms have developed aquatic features, despite the absence of liquid water. Xaphods Xaphods are a range of sentient, predatory plant organisms, dwelling in the densest parts of Taomar's jungles. Because they are so difficult to distinguish from regular, inanimate flora, Xaphods are lethally effective hunters, able to spring from hiding and snatch live prey in the blink of an eye. Tanarchs Tanarchs are large, bipedal lizard creatures with powerful legs, two sets of eyes and narrow, elongated heads. Eranel Eranel is the second planet in the Life Belt, and the smallest inhabited world. Because its orbit is tidally locked with the Sun, Eranel's only habitable area is the belt of permanent twilight that lies between its two faces; one a blistering desert, the other a frozen wasteland. Due to the planet's smaller size and weaker gravity, many of its plants and animals are primarily airborne. Drenn Drenn are blind, floating, non-sentient organisms. Kept aloft by their massive, gas-filled sacs, Drenn usually congregate over pools and marshes, where their long, dangling tendrils gently dredge the shallow waters for nutrients. Drenn seem mostly unaware of their surroundings - their thin, inflated membranes are easily punctured by tree branches or other such objects, which will quickly cause them to die, and others simply end up drifting too far out into either the desert or the ice fields. Osis Osis is the third and final planet in the solar system to harbour life, and is home to the greatest diversity of life forms. Osis' creatures are also the most intelligent of the three inhabited worlds, having developed a variety of civilisations and technologies unseen in the rest of the solar system, surpassed only by the Arturi. Humans Humans are the newest arrivals on Osis, having only appeared within the last fifteen hundred years, and already they have drastically changed society more than any other race. Having founded The Conclave, introduced the NAME currency, and established recorded history, Humans have made vast contributions in unifying the different races. But despite their many achievements, Humans are generally seen as something of a 'problem' of late. [Believed to have arrived entirely by accident via a portal from another world], Humans have swiftly multiplied and expanded their territories without any signs of stopping. Originating from a world of ever-increasing expansion and consumption, Humans have struggled to maintain equilibrium with their environment, Otaru Otaru are bipedal, land-based descendants of the great Uthulian sea creatures. Still retaining much of their aquatic ancestry, Otaru are equipped with gills, fins, webbed hands and feet, and facial tentacles. Generally, Otaru are slightly taller and thinner than Humans, and whilst their younglings are born pink, Otaru adults are all a slick, pearlescent blue, with deep black eyes. Though it has been eons since their primordial ancestors first crawled out from the ocean, the Otaru still keep mainly to coastal towns and cities, as they are hesitant to stray too far from the sea. They also have to lay their eggs underwater in order for them to survive. Most of the Otaru population is concentrated at their capital city of Vyssus Mar; an enormous coiled seashell which sits on the northern shores of CONTINENT. Music and food are the two staples of Otarun culture, and during high tide, many festivals are held at Vyssus Mar where these are shared in abundance. Wymirs Wymirs are hunched, feathered humanoids who mostly reside in high settlements and mountaintops. Although their skin is universally a pale grey, Wymirs are renowned for their vivid and colourful plumage, which sprouts from their heads and across their backs, and along their forearms and legs. The top parts of their mouths also taper forward into a hard, pointed overbite, much like a beak. Despite their many avian qualities, Wymirs are not able to fly. However, this has not hampered their fondness of heights, which they are utterly fearless of. Inversely, Wymirs often feel vulnerable at ground level, and never dare to venture underground. Unsurprisingly, the Wymir capital city of Edeenia sits at one of the highest points in all of Osis. Wymirs are shorter in stature than Humans, but they are also extremely agile and possess much sharper eyesight than the other races. Quen Quen are tall, slender beings capable of both telepathy and psychokinesis. Concealed beneath long robes, the Quen's mottled beige bodies are very foetal in nature, with no legs and only vestigial arms as features. Consequently, the Quen spend their entire lives in perpetual levitation, floating silently from place to place. Hovering at about seven to eight feet high, Quen appear remarkably tall, but are physically very feeble, with elongated necks and bulbous, rounded heads. Quen also lack any kind of mouth, and so communicate solely via telepathy. Despite their physical frailty, the Quen's telekinetic abilities provide them with unique advantages - among them, being able to directly handle NAME crystals and other hazardous materials. Renowned for their placid nature, melodical discourse and keen minds, the Quen are fond lovers of serenity and learning - be it astrology, alchemy, history or even politics. Incidentally, their scholars are highly sought after on academic matters both great and small, and their capital city of Quaith is famous for its unrivalled libraries and museums. Evokai Description. Small, industrious, technological. Have begun to augment their meagre bodies with steampunk-esque modifications (eye lenses, gauntlets, etc), sometimes stirring unease among some of the other races. Able to manage large scale constructions through the use of large mechanical exo-suits. Their capital is the floating city of Zahaeron. Graun Graun are hulking, bestial creatures with heavy builds, vestigial horns and small tails. Their distinctly massive arms help balance them when walking, and their fur colours and patterns differ wildly from one Graun to another. This diversity tends to fade by old age however, as elder Graun fur is usually white or grey. Generally, the Graun are something of a contradiction. Despite their brutish appearance, Graun are largely passive and intelligent beings, sharing a great respect for nature and the elements. Their capital city of Korahawl, which sits within the enormous caverns of the NAME mountains, is considered a sacred location by many due to its isolated natural beauty. Firm believers in what they call 'The Long Strife', Graun find deep reward in physical challenges and labours, believing that only through being tested does one become stronger and therefore more worthy of life. This outlook generally puts them at odds with the Quen, whom they consider diametrically opposite in nature and ideology. Ixari Ixari are a species of large insectoids native to Osis' forests. Whilst their physical features can vary dramatically, most Ixari possess long antennae, four to six eyes, three pairs of legs, and chitinous exoskeletons. Some subspecies have iridescent wings which enable flight, others can produce valuable silks, and some can even utilise biochemical defences such as acids and glues. Due to their vastly different anatomy, Ixari are incapable of speaking the common tongue, and are not represented in The Conclave. Whilst this has more-or-less isolated them from the other civilised races, Ixari are not inherently aggressive or hostile, and have coexisted with the other species in relative peace for millennia. Their capital - a vast subterranean hive network referred to as The Underweb - stretches beneath most of Asharoth, and even reaches parts of Issidia. Hish Hish are a primitive race of reptilians that live out in the sun-baked deserts of the Arashi Wastes. Dwelling in crevasses and hovels beneath the dry earth, Hish are a primal, savage species splintered into dozens of tribes, all of which clash with one another on a daily basis. As a result, Hish have no major settlements or overarching civilisation to speak of. Whilst relatively humanoid in shape, Hish are covered in millions of tiny scales and commonly walk on all fours. Their pronounced claws make them adept climbers as well as deadly warriors. Depending on the level of sun exposure, their skin tones can vary between browns, reds and greys. In addition, Hish jaws can open outwards, exposing a series of fangs loaded with a highly toxic venom, which they utilise when hunting prey. Each Hish tribe is typically ruled by a K'vash ("warlord"); an alpha male position, obtained only by killing the previous K'vash. In addition to fighting outsiders, Hish tribes are even known to purge the weak or elderly from their own ranks and cannibalise their remains. Despite their animalistic nature, some Hish have shown signs of a higher intelligence, and even on occasion, a limited grasp of the common tongue. Uthulians Uthulians are ancient, gargantuan sea creatures now widely considered to be extinct. Thought to have ruled the oceans during the late Primordium epoch, they were the largest known creatures to have ever lived. Present day Otaru trace their own lineage back to these great leviathans, and their capital city Vyssus Mar is housed inside the huge fossilised seashell of a long-dead Uthulian creature. Precise details on Uthulians' appearance and behaviours are largely speculative, due to the age and scarcity of their remains. As of yet, only two Uthulian creatures have been officially classified; the Arboranth, and the Myrmidon. The exact cause of the Uthulians' extinction is also unknown, but many believe that the arrival of the Arturi to be a major factor. Gehemaurs Gehemaurs are an ancient and diverse species of land behemoths which, much like the Uthulians, originated during Primordium and became one of the dominant species of their time. However, whilst the Uthulians passed into extinction millions of years ago, Gehemaurs are still alive to this day, though their size and numbers have dwindled significantly. Renowned for their vibrant colours, thick hides and valuable tusks, The Arturi The Arturi are a race of antediluvian extraterrestrials known to have visited several of the solar system's worlds some twenty four million years ago. Their arrival on Osis heralded a profound change in the world and its inhabitants, and is widely regarded as the single-most pivotal moment in all of history. One of the most crucial artifacts left behind by the Arturi was the Vestige; a remnant of their advanced technology which powered their ships, allowing them to traverse the vastness of the cosmos through the bending of spacetime and the formation of portals.